Tag: Georges St. Pierre

Former UFC welterweight title contender Dan Hardy will be part of the upcoming broadcast for Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather. A regular during UFC Fight Pass events, Hardy believes that “Notorious” has a few things going for him as he prepares to meet the unbeaten Mayweather. “He has to stay unpredictable,” Hardy said. “Floyd has beaten 49 […]

Former UFC welterweight title contender Dan Hardy will be part of the upcoming broadcast for Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather. A regular during UFC Fight Pass events, Hardy believes that “Notorious” has a few things going for him as he prepares to meet the unbeaten Mayweather. “He has to stay unpredictable,” Hardy said. “Floyd has beaten 49 […]

Earlier this week during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre dropped a bit of news regarding his upcoming title shot against middleweight champion Michael Bisping. According to “GSP,” if he ends up winning the title then he is contractually obligated to defend the 185 pound belt […]

Earlier this week during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre dropped a bit of news regarding his upcoming title shot against middleweight champion Michael Bisping. According to “GSP,” if he ends up winning the title then he is contractually obligated to defend the 185 pound belt instead of going in search of other big money fights.

No doubt, it is a big revelation due to the fact that members of St-Pierre’s own team had mentioned possible fights with Nick Diaz and Conor McGregor. If he would have to live up to his obligation then he would have to interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker next.

During Tuesday’s episode of his Believe You Me podcast (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting), Bisping reacted to St-Pierre’s revelation.

“All that stops Georges from doing – Georges is still in the position of power, much as I don’t like to admit that. Listen, I’m fighting GSP and I have a fan base and people like to watch me fight or people like to see me get knocked out. Win or lose, people do tune in. But GSP is a big name and he brings the huge Canadian market with him and that’s what the UFC are after. They want all those Canadians to start buying the Pay-Per-Views again. From what I’m hearing, Pay-Per-View sales in Canada haven’t been doing too well lately so they want GSP to come back and they want all those people, all those lumberjacks to start buying the Pay-Per-Views again.

“If, God forbid, he beats me, he has it in the contract that he has to fight Robert Whittaker. But he can retire. He can retire if he wants. They cannot force you to fight. So let’s say he was to say, ‘I retire’ and then say, ‘Hey, listen, I’ll come out of retirement to fight at 170 [pounds]. UFC, do you want to sell all those Pay-Per-Views again, yes or no? It’s up to you.’ So really . . . one would assume that he can really do what he wants. They can’t force him to fight.”

Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale – USA TODAY Sports

Keep in mind that although the UFC cannot legally force St-Pierre to fight. Instead, they do have the right to strip him of his title if he refuses to fight the contender they deem next in line for him to face. This situation just played out with Germaine de Randamie. Bisping did admit that GSP does bring more attention and more money than he does. Thus, he understands that UFC would likely be willing to do even more for St-Pierre than they did for him.

“[St-Pierre]’s in the position of power, really. Of course Dana’s the promoter, the UFC are the promoters but we’re the fighters and GSP has that Canadian market that buys Pay-Per-Views. Unfortunately for me, I’ve got a fantastic following in the U.K. – I have a great following and God bless you all – but the way it’s structured in the U.K., we get the UFC for free. There’s no Pay-Per-View so there’s limited – it’s a big attraction to the UFC to have the U.K. market but to have the Canadian market that has a history of buying Pay-Per-Views, you pay for the UFC in Canada so that’s more beneficial to the UFC.”

Former UFC welterweight Georges St-Pierre is coming along nicely in his preparations ahead of his UFC return in Winter St-Pierre commented on getting to grips with his new diet regime and how he is feeling ahead of that bout on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour. According to “GSP”, things are going according to plan: “Right […]

Former UFC welterweight Georges St-Pierre is coming along nicely in his preparations ahead of his UFC return in Winter St-Pierre commented on getting to grips with his new diet regime and how he is feeling ahead of that bout on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour. According to “GSP”, things are going according to plan: “Right […]

Returning UFC legend Georges St-Pierre responded to fans who claim he is scared of welterweight champion Tyron Woodley According to GSP, he is scared of everyone – he just fights regardless. St-Pierre is set to return to the promotion which made him a legend. Despite fans waiting longer than initially anticipated, “GSP” makes his return […]

Returning UFC legend Georges St-Pierre responded to fans who claim he is scared of welterweight champion Tyron Woodley According to GSP, he is scared of everyone – he just fights regardless. St-Pierre is set to return to the promotion which made him a legend. Despite fans waiting longer than initially anticipated, “GSP” makes his return […]

After months and months of speculation in regards to whether or not the fight was actually going to happen, it has now been made official that middleweight champion Michael Bisping will take on returning former longtime welterweight king Georges St. Pierre at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017 from Madison Square Garden in New York […]

After months and months of speculation in regards to whether or not the fight was actually going to happen, it has now been made official that middleweight champion Michael Bisping will take on returning former longtime welterweight king Georges St. Pierre at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017 from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

St. Pierre, who hasn’t competed since earning a highly controversial decision victory over Johny Hendricks in 2013, is widely considered to be the very best welterweight of all-time, but he has never competed at middleweight. If he does indeed beat Bisping, however, he will be required to defend the title at 185 pounds, as it’s stated in his contract with the UFC:

“I have to defend my title,” St-Pierre said on today’s (Aug. 14, 2017) edition of The MMA Hour. “It’s written in my contract. I have to defend my title if I win.”

“That wasn’t my initial plan, but I understand the UFC’s point of view,” he added. “They want to protect their titles. They don’t want to delay the defense of their titles, because they don’t want to make people wait.”

As far as the fight with Bisping goes, many have criticized the UFC for booking the bout given the fact that St. Pierre is a natural welterweight. “Rush”, however, admits that it’s the fight he wanted, and the fight that could offer him the biggest reward:

“That’s the fight I wanted,” St-Pierre said. “That’s the fight Michael wanted. And I think that’s the fight people wanted to see.”

“I wanted my risk to be worth it,” St-Pierre said of fighting Bisping. “I wanted to try something that I never attempted before. For me, fighting Michael Bisping is the most rewarding thing I can do right now.”

Given that he’s 36-years-old and hasn’t competed in four years, many have also wondered if St. Pierre’s return is simply a one-off, or if the Canadian star will stick around for a few fights. In regards to that, “Rush” said that the plan is to win the title before defending it against interim champion Robert Whittaker:

“You never know in advance,” St-Pierre said. “But if we follow the logic, that’s what the UFC told me. That’s what they signed me for.”

UFC interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is happy to wait for Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre to trash it out Despite the will they/won’t they bout now looking close to being finalized, Whittaker feels that regardless of the result, his path is still obstacle free: “It’s worked in my favor with that fight being scheduled,” […]

UFC interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is happy to wait for Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre to trash it out Despite the will they/won’t they bout now looking close to being finalized, Whittaker feels that regardless of the result, his path is still obstacle free: “It’s worked in my favor with that fight being scheduled,” […]